ScottsTurf Builder Grass Seed Southern Gold Mix for Tall Fescue Lawns, Stands Up to Harsh Conditions, 7 lbs

The price was better then local box stores but Lowes put this seed on sale so it was close to the same price. The Amazon seed was delivered quickly and undamaged. The seed label with the expiration date was unreadable but I think I saw it was tested 8 months ago (which was the same as Lowes seed).The Scotts Southern Gold tall Fescue mix worked well for me - better then most years I have been overseeding my fescue for 30 years every fall and sometimes in spring too. In Atlanta it is very hard to keep Fescue from dying out in August- but the last few years the high temp. have been lower and we got more rain but the grubs killed much of my fescue. Why can't grubs eat crabgrass roots. ( a little genetic engineering and we could get grubs to eat only the weed roots instead of only the fescue).Anyway I've used every brand of fescue seed and this is at least a B compared with the others. The most important things to do to prepare the lawn are rake out and remove the thatch, core aerate your lawn before overseeding and buy wheat straw and chop it up with a lawn mower then spread over the lawn after seeding to hold in the moisture. Watering is the most important part. Keep the ground moist. You don't need deep watering just the surface where the seeds are. Keeping the surface wet all day long can be difficult that's why wheat straw helps. Some years I try adding soil or other additives to keep the seeds moist but wheat straw works good and it cheap. I think the wheat straw adds some weeds that have to be dealt with later. The other things I should mention is cut your lawn low just before overseeding and use a starter fertilizer at the time of seeding. This year I try using a hand held broadcast spreader and I liked using it because it helps get the seed where you want it and not clumping up. It is really important to measure you yard I have just about 8000sq. ft. ( a pretty small yard) so needed 2 -20lb. bags of seed and had some left over. The seed must touch the soil and stay slightly damp to germinate. Two weeks out I'm getting some germination better then some years but not great. I think moisture levels, age of seed and prep work are more important then the brand of seed. Make sure you are using fescue if you have fescue lawn. Bluegrass and rye grass won't take the heat in the south. They work in the winter then die in the late spring. That is what Rye grass is meant to do- although I haven't tried it - it is suppose to be quick to germinate but is temporary. Fescue is close to it's heat limit in northern Georgia. Bluegrass is for cooler climates. The best grass is Zoysia but it is expensive and browns out ( goes dormant) in the winter. Plant Zoysia and Bermuda in the spring and Fescue in the fall. Fescue sod is probably a waste of money since it gets weeds and browns out late every summer and has to be overseeded.

I killed off my lawn installed sprinklers and planted these seeds and in 6 weeks this is what my lawn looks like. I love it and will now buy more to do the backyard.

Good

I'm in the northern-most area of Zone 9a, a bit far South for Fescue Grass.This blend of Tall Fescues inclueded: Tarheel Fescue, Wolfpack II Fescue, and Gazelle II Fescue seeds. I have a neighbor with Japanese Zoysia, they don't know which cultivar. All cool season grasses trump Bahiagrass and St. Augustine in beauty, in my opinion.I used the yellow "Scotts Turf Builder with PLUS 2 Weed Control" this Spring, and got rid of Weeds AND a few stray strands of St Augustine in my Bahia lawn. That was great!I hope Scotts sticks with creating Southern, heat tolerant, Fescue blends. I was very encouraged to find this one. I desperately want to get a Fescue lawn going, even though I'm in Zone 9a. Time will tell....Late Summer 2014, UPDATE...Yes! I have tiny blades of grass growing! Ha ha ha! I planted early June, in Zone 9a, and still got germination! But, if you don't follow Scotts' instructions to a tee, it'll take a LONG time for those little seedlings to come up. When I say long, I mean instead of 10 days, they take 6 weeks! I think the Scotts coating kept the seeds from dying. Also, it has rained heavily almost every single day, maybe two or three days in a row of no rain or just a drizzle (and no watering from me, my sprinklers are OFF), but the ground is fertile. I don't have that sandy/clay stuff. I've got rich black dirt! My lawn has excellent drainage. The article "Grass Seed 101" on Scotts' website says: "plant your grass seed when temperatures are between 60°F to 80°F". I've read elsewhere that Fescue will germinate at up to 86°F. The nights in Zone 9a, were in the high 70s when I first planted, we're up to the low 80s now. Noon temperatures are still comfortable in deep shade.Fescue went dormant in August 2014 down here in Zone 9a. I guess Fescue is just weird that way. Gotta Love It!If your community/subdivision doesn't allow you to water 2 to 3 times a day, everyday (seriously Scotts?), not to worry! Those seeds WILL germinate in deep shade, fertile soil, stormy weather, and prayers before bedtime. Keep waiting!Update... Late Fall 2015:Bahia did it's job and finally took over from Fescue. Tall Fescue didn't survive two summers, but I'm still impressed. I STILL want a Fescue winter lawn, so I'll overseed every year. But this year I'm trying creeping red and hard fescues instead of tall fescue. I'm also going to try Thermal Blue Kentucky Blue hybrid grass seed.

People here say you can't grow Fescue in Central Texas, but I'm here to say that you can! With the heat being over 100 for more than 55 days, and still getting up here, you would think that it would have died. Nope. The Bermuda did, though. With cooler temps coming up I hope that it spreads nicely for another season of green. I even purchased a 20 pound bag for my neighbors as they, like me, are not fans of Bermuda and have always had beautiful, green, tall and soft fescue.It is a little expensive, but I suppose since it had lasted here it is well worth it. Plus as a bunch grass, it should spread, although it isn't going as fast as others. Still, beats having vines as your yard!!

We removed some raised flower beds from the front yard and tried different seed but nothing worked until this. The grass is finally growing! Since we live in north Texas we decided to try it out. We seeded in the fall when temperatures were finally in the 80's. At last, there's grass growing! It's also helped thicken the grass in other areas of the yard.